Missköter egna skattebetalningarna – drar ändå in miljoner från MSB för brandhelikoptrar

Heliair, a Swedish helicopter company, has been able to invoice the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) for large sums of money despite being involved in several legal processes and facing scrutiny over its tax payments. In 2019, it was revealed that MSB had exaggerated the number of helicopters it had contracted from Heliair, and that the company had submitted lists of pilots who were supposedly available to fly for them, but who, in many cases, had not been approached or even wanted to fly for Heliair. The revelation prompted strong reactions from political parties, with the Sweden Democrats calling it a scandal, and the Christian Democrats demanding that the contract be revoked. However, MSB has not taken any action against Heliair in response to these new findings. SVT News conducted the investigation and discovered that Heliair and its owner have been involved in a number of legal processes and have been scrutinized for their tax payments. In 2019, the owner had to pay a tax surcharge after the Swedish Tax Agency found that he had provided incorrect information about his income. The company has also received reprimands from its own auditor in the past two years for not paying taxes and fees on time. According to Robert Wallen, the head of the operational department at MSB, these new revelations were not known to the agency. While Heliair had certified during the procurement process that it would fulfill its obligations regarding tax payments, Wallen stated that the new information is not sufficient for MSB to take action, such as terminating the contract. The investigation also found that Heliair had attempted to change the terms of the contract in a way that was rejected by MSB. Heliair declined to comment on the findings.